DPRK slams ROK's dialogue offer as 'cunning ploy'

SEOUL - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday slammed the dialogue overtures by the Republic of Korea (ROK) as a "cunning ploy," Yonhap News Agency reported.

The dialogue offer is "a cunning deploy to conceal their criminal wrongdoings that drove the Kaesong Industrial Complex into crisis, mislead public opinion inside and outside, and hide the policy of confrontation," a spokesman at the DPRK's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in an interview with the official KCNA news agency.

The spokesman described the dialogue offer as "blushless acts" and "empty shell," denouncing that the ROK has never given any apology for the joint military drills between Seoul and Washington. He also pointed out the words such as "provocation" and "repeated vicious circle" commented by South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae.

President Park said Tuesday that "until when should we repeat this endless vicious circle of (the DPRK's) creating crisis before compromising and aid, and creating crisis again before compromising and aid." Her comments came after the DPRK decided to pull out all its workers from the joint industrial park at the western border town of Kaesong.

Park said in a dinner meeting with ruling party lawmakers on Thursday that Seoul will push for dialogue. On the same day, Unification Minister Ryoo said in a formal statement that the normalization of the Kaesong complex should be made through dialogue, urging Pyongyang to "come to the dialogue table."